Damon's Ascension-Chapter 149: The Chaos Eye

The massive eye in the sky locked onto the Vanguard Team and the moment it did, they all felt as if the entire world had been focused out to them. It was akin to quietly picking your nose and suddenly a stage spotlight shines upon you in a mega theater, the screen displaying your face for the entire crowd to see.

It was not about the embarrassment, but the sudden feeling of exposure before the public in a situation where you thought you were practically unnoticed.

Damon especially felt this the moment, the intensity so strong that even his hidden main body shuddered and looked upward, but was safe and secure - relatively - in the home universe.

The eyes in the sky shot out a beam of light that encapsulated the vanguard team, lifting them up into the air and ’broadcasting’ their presence across the Chaos Realm.

The group panicked slightly, but their fear was soon drowned out by the thunderous voice of what could only be the eye in the sky, which seemed to come from the heavens themselves.

"Oh? How interesting. A Pre-Chaos Species with Post-Chaos bodies..."

The voice was deep and seemingly masculine, with a tone that resembled curiosity and mild interest.

"What a mess... such a chaotic mixture of soul, body and spirit. What a bizarre chimera of a species this is..."

Like a doctor seeing a patient with a strange illness or a scientist encountering a strange new reaction, the voice was a mixture of awed disgust and contemplation.

"Oh? And what do we have here? A parasite?" It said with far less amusement as Felecia was dragged up further into the sky, her face changing greatly.

Before she could do anything, a wave of light pulsed through her body, causing her face to display some level of pain as a white orb of light was ’dislodged’ from her core.

This white orb flickered with shock, buzzing crazily as it fought against the bindings that held it, but such an action was futile, akin to a child wrestling with an adult.

The white orb was dragged upwards, bringing it into focus.

"Hmm... I see. Merely the catalyzed will of a fledgling universe... and oh?"

The eye looked around the area once more, its ’pupil’ zooming about with uncanny speed before returning to focus on the white orb.

"I see. Stealing from your seniors? Not a bad idea, you’ve managed to do it quietly. You have the right idea, and I don’t much care for such pitiful things."

Then, a certain coldness and intensity appeared. "However, punishment must still be doled out for theft. Begone!"

A pulsation of light struck the orb, and one could heart a faint scream in their minds, something that every creature born and linked to the home universe could feel regardless of their location and age.

The orb was knocked back into Felecia’s body, who groaned with a pale face, likely feeling a kind of phantom pain.

Done with the Universe Will, the Chaos Eye turned to Damon’s crew again. "Hmm, a few with the potential to become Chaos Generals."

The Chaos Eye then elevated Xela. "Not bad, a potential Chaos Queen, that is rare."

The Chaos Eye then focused on the still pale Felicia. "A Chaos Empress in the making with a parasite attached. How amusing."

Then... Damon.

When Damon was lifted up, the Chaos Eye focused on him and he felt like it saw through all his secrets, his avatars all seeing the chaos eye appear in their minds and vision. It was at this moment he comprehended the scope of entity that could slap away their entire Universe Will casually.

"And this... this is nearly impossible. A Chaos God? Born into a Post-Chaos Universe with a Post-Chaos Body and Pre-Chaos origins? What kind of warped joke is this?"

The Chaos Eyes voice was full of puzzlement and strangeness, like a human being seeing a pig fly for the first time.

Suddenly, the entire vanguard team were put down and the focus of the Chaos Eye left them.

"It doesn’t matter in the long run."

The eye seemed to scan the area once more, this time not as briefly, before making its final statement.

"This unordered part of my body cannot be invaded without reason. If you Post-Chaos species want to come and take resources for your fledgling universe to grow faster, then you must pay the corresponding price."

Suddenly, the central part of the eye shone brightly, sending out a pulsing wave of light and energy that did not touch the ground, but spread out in a radial pattern across the entire Chaos Realm sky.

The entire Chaos Realm shook once again when that pulsing wave was emitted, but it was not as strong as the eye’s appearance. Only the Chaos Realm shook, with no visible changes to the home universe at all.

The light from the Chaos Eye dimmed and it began to fade away slowly. "My Realm will now change its rules, adopting a similar system to your fledgling universe’s ’Essence’. Let’s see how you Post-Chaos species can overturn your fates and continue to rise through the ranks of existence."

With those final words, the eye disappeared.

The world slowly returned to silence and the trembling ceased.

The clouds above began to swirl back to their original formations, as if the sky itself were trying to forget what it had just seen. The oppressive pressure lifted gradually from their bodies, but a strange stillness lingered.

The Vanguard Team stood where they had been dropped, scattered across the Safe Zone 5 entry platform, their expressions pale, their eyes wide, and their bodies trembling with aftershocks they couldn’t explain.

And then, then were snapped out of it as Felicia suddenly collapsed.

Her body gave out without warning, knees buckling as she fell forward into the stone floor with a soft thud.

"Big Sis Felicia!" Xela was the first to react, darting forward to catch her before she fully hit the ground.

She cradled the woman’s head carefully, brushing aside sweat-soaked curls as Felicia’s face twitched in discomfort.

"Her vitals are fluctuating, she’s not dying... but whatever that orb was, it hurt her." Protizen reported, scanning with his visor.

Henry crouched nearby, his voice subdued for once. "You think that... white light thing was her ability?"

Damon approached, eyes narrowed. "No, that wasn’t her ability. That was the Universe Will’s main consciousness, which lodged inside her."

Silence met his words.

Marshal’s face was grim. "The Eye... It dislodged the white orb like a parasite. Identified it as a thief first, then punished it for the crime."

Connor shook his head slowly, voice dry but shaky. "And we’re supposed to mine Chaos Essence in this place?"

Then something suddenly changed as a faint chime rang out, like a gentle ding from inside their minds.

And then, a translucent screen flashed into existence before each of them.

Since inception, the Essence AR Character Panel had remained dead in the Chaos Realm. It was pretty much useless and defunct, a lifeless system of their own universe’s laws, even within the sake zones.

But now, it appeared.

Only it wasn’t quite the same.

Each character panel now had new details... lines they had never seen before.

[Name: Damon Arnan || Level: 27 || Species: Human (Pre-Chaos) || Age: 23.]

[Post-Chaos Status: POW: 8 || MOB: 8 || FOR: 7 || MEN: 7 || PRO: 1.]

[Pre-Chaos Abilities: Probability Manipulation (EX), Avatar (EX), Devour (EX).]

[Post-Chaos Abilities: Empty Soul Palm (A), Flowing Iron Curtain (D), Silent Wheel Palm (D), Shadow Tide Step (D), Withering Thread Style (D), Negotiation (C), Silver Eclipse (F), Siege Breaker (C), Reinforcements From Afar (C).]

[Chaos Items: Energy Flintlock (D), Golden Stool (B).]

Each team member’s panel had updated. It now included the accumulated level, species classification, skills and Items and age.

More importantly...

"...It’s gone." Damon murmured.

Xela looked up at him. "What do you mean gone?"

"I mean the Universe Will..." He paused, gaze distant as his mind reached out.

"...is unresponsive, like a server with no power. I think... I think it’s gone dormant." Damon said slowly, his brows furrowing.

"No guidance? No skill allocation? No stat screens, leveling interface, notifications?" Levi asked.

"They’re still here it seems, but the operator isn’t." Damon muttered, scrolling his panel.

"The Chaos Eye seemed to slap the orb back into Felicia. Do you think it sealed it? Or... worse?" Kyle noted.

"I don’t know. But it’s not gone I think, just hurt... or sleeping." Damon crouched next to Felicia, who now breathed a bit more steadily.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. Felicia stirred weakly beneath him, her lips parting slightly. "...I... I heard it scream..."

"We all did," Xela whispered.

A moment passed.

Then Damon stood again.

"We need to adjust our priorities. The rules of the Chaos Realm just changed." He said coldly.

Henry exhaled slowly. "Yeah, no kidding. We’ve basically just gone from exploring a jungle with a compass... to getting dropped in a magical warzone with an enchanted wristwatch."

Nicholas nodded. "A wristwatch that now shows our kill count, birth date, and what socks we’re wearing."

Connor glanced upward toward the now-empty sky. "What did it mean by adopting our Essence System? What does that do?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"It means we’ve been acknowledged, this Realm just implemented a tracking structure... to test us." Damon said grimly.

"To test if we can rise?" Xela asked.

"To test if we’re worth letting live." Protizen concluded.

Felicia stirred again. Her eyes fluttered open, and she winced. "The Eye... it scanned the structure of our souls. That system you see now isn’t for our benefit... it’s a leash."

Damon looked at his own panel again, watching the accumulated level flash once before dimming.

"...Then we’d better make sure we sever it."